Various types of devices have been employed for the general purpose of practicing leaping, jumping or springing by athletes for games such as basketball, football, volleyball or the like. Examples of prior basketball practice devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,105,683 to H. E. Kimbrell and U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,150 to G. Kaerwer. These relevant devices have had limited success because they are incorporated on basketball backboard units at a fixed height such as ten feet for a basketball rim. Thus, such devices are of little or no value in teaching leaping and jumping skills to young players being trained to rebound basketballs as they lack height adjustment means. Further, such devices involve first throwing a basketball through a basket rim or hoop before the ball is cast outwardly from the net by an ejecting device to a person practicing rebounding. The result is that younger or less skilled players who have limited basketball shooting ability derive minimal benefit from such training devices.
Another problem with prior basketball training devices such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,800 to A. J. Holstad is that the ball is ejected in a single arcuate path from within the basket. Actual rebounding occurs when the ball strikes and bounces off the backboard or rim and is returned in a random manner. A rebounding basketball may move through infinite paths of travel anywhere from a direct single linear or arcuate path to a composite path caused by the ball bouncing or being tipped in a multiplicity of directions.
A further problem with prior jumping and leaping training devices such as shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,705 to F. McCall, Jr., is that they lack any gauging means to enable a person to determine or measure their progress in developing their reaction skills such as rebounding a basketball and thus provide an incentive to constantly upgrade their ability.
Still another problem with prior training devices is that they do not develop a player's ability to intercept or block a basketball that is being passed or thrown toward the basket. Also, prior patents fail to teach a training device that releasably retains a basketball to develop the player's hand strength and dexterity in gaining control of the ball such as from an opposing player.
Thus, the invention herein relates to a physical training device for improving the jumping, leaping and ball retrieving reaction skills of persons of all heights, ages and level of abilities. The device is also intended as a coordination and reaction development apparatus, such as hand/eye coordination, for handicapped persons or persons undergoing a program of rehabilitation therapy.